Like two drops of water
by Tarzje
Summary: A new person is hired to replace Calleigh in the ballistics lab. Calleigh doesn't regret giving up her position there, but she just does not agree with WHO is replacing her!
1. Aimee

_**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately CSI:Miami and it's characters are not mine, they belong to the big guys with the money in the States, I'm just a poor Dutch girl needing this to express my way too big imatination :p_

_**Spoilers:** Season 3 and 4 basically :p_

_**Author's Note: **This is my first attempt on a Miami fic, don't kill me if I get stuff wrong :p_

** Like two drops of water**

_**Chapter 1: Aimee**_

Horatio sat in his office, it was one of the few times he was actually there. Since Calleigh decided to stop working at ballistics they needed a new person to take her job. It was a quiet night so he decided to look for a suitable person. He was flipping through some applications when his eye fell on a name that looked very familiar, too familiar.

He looked at the resume, it looked impressive. This young woman graduated college a year early, passed university with a high degree in both chemistry and physics and studying in Spain now. In the short e-mail that came with the application she stated that she would come back to Miami in case she got the job. Horatio was most impressed by the specialty, ballistics. It is not often that women specialize in that, he was lucky enough to know the best 'bullet girl' of the United States. According to her resume, this girl would be the second best.

Horatio sighed, there was one big thing that held him back from immediately hiring the woman. He decided to page Calleigh to ask her for advice. He would normally never do that, but it was the name that made him page her.

Calleigh Duquesne had switched from the ballistics lab to the 'normal' lab because her ex-boyfriend John Hagen committed suicide in her lab. She couldn't stand working in the lab knowing he had died in there. She just got out of another argument with Ryan Wolfe, which seemed to be the order of the day. She hated the way how Ryan was going out with that reporter girl, and how he always gave out information with her. No she didn't hate it, it disgusted her. The young man thought he could take Speed's place in the team, but Calleigh was going to show him wrong. He would have to earn her respect, and it would take a hell of a long time before her respect for Wolfe would even grow to be close to the respect she had for Tim Speedle.

It amazed Calleigh every time how much Ryan worked on her nerves. Every time she told him about her findings, he knew something better. She hated know-it-alls like him. While she was on her daily rant about Wolfe she also added Delko in it. She wondered what her long time friend was up to. Eric Delko was a great guy, but something was wrong with him, he seemed less focused and she noticed weird things. She was sure he was taking drugs, which worried her. She wanted to help him with it, but she also didn't want to stick her nose in his business. She was absorbed in her thoughts when she was woken up by the sound of her beeper.

She wondered what Horatio needed her for. She got up from her chair and strolled towards his office. She was walking in the hallway towards Horatio's office when Delko called her. He wanted Calleigh to double check something he found. She decided Horatio could wait for a bit. While she was helping Delko, her beeper went off again, twice.

Delko smiled "You're popular" he said giving her the time to check her beeper.

"It's Horatio, I was on my way to meet him when you called me. I guess it's more important than I thought" Calleigh said with that cute smile of hers.

"You are excused" Delko replied to Calleigh's semi-excuse. How could he refuse that smile anyway?

With a smile on her face Calleigh left Delko to his work. He was a great guy, a great colleague. After what happened with John, she decided she was never going to have a boyfriend again who was in the same line of job. It was just too risky.

When she opened the door to Horatio's office, she still wondered what he wanted to see her for. The look in his eyes showed he was serious, she wondered what on earth could be so serious. _Would it be her dad?_

"Calleigh, sit down please" Horatio said to the blonde woman who was standing in front of him. He could see she was nervous, it took a very good eye to see Calleigh Duquesne out of composure. To the outer world she always was a professional, she never seemed to show her feelings. But Horatio could see it, because he knew where to look.

Calleigh sat down and looked at her supervisor. She hoped he would get over with it fast, whatever it was.

"I was looking through the applications for your position at the ballistics lab" Horatio started, folding his hands, resting them on the desk in front of him.

"Yes?" the blonde replied.

"Are you still sticking with your decision?" Horatio asked her.

"Yes" she stated firmly. She was sure of her decision, she could never work in that lab again knowing a person she cared for died there. She would never let anyone she cared about anywhere near that lab.

"Well, when I was looking through the applications, I found this one" The red headed supervisor pushed the file towards Calleigh.

Calleigh took a look at it. The resume was quite familiar, and the personal page with picture made Calleigh's heart skip a couple of beats. She pushed the file back to Horatio.

"No way" she snapped at her supervisor "No way, not her"

"But Calleigh, after you, she is the best in the field" Horatio sighed "I can't decline her application."

Calleigh sighed "No way Horatio".

"If you want to change my mind you are going to have to use something other than no way" Horatio leaned on his desk, waiting for Calleigh to come up with a good argument.

"She is much safer in Spain, I don't want another person I care about…." Calleigh started, but Horatio interrupted her.

"First of all, she is specialized in ballistics and second of all, if you care so much about her, why didn't you mention her to me?" Horatio said, while he was wondering why Calleigh never mentioned anything about it.

Calleigh sighed and again she looked at the application form. Aimee Hayes, 09/12/80, that was her little sister alright. She felt tears well up in her eyes.

Horatio sighed, he put his hand on Calleigh's to support her.

"Talk to me" he said, hoping she would tell him what the problem was.

"She is my little sister" Calleigh sighed "I don't want her here. She is safe where she is"

"I am going to have to hire her Calleigh, I can't justify turning the best down because of personal reasons of one of my CSI's, I'm sorry".

Calleigh didn't say anything and got up. "If you weren't going to listen to me anyway, why did you ask me in here?" she said. Horatio could hear the pain in the woman's voice.

"I promise you Calleigh, nothing will happen to her ok? I will watch out for her" he said. If Horatio Caine promised something, he would do it, especially if it came to protecting people.

Horatio's promise assured her a little, but she was still weary of having her little sister around at work. She didn't like what Horatio did, if he wasn't going to listen to her anyway, why invite her and ask for her opinion.

She had to clear her head. After all that had happened, after all these years, she didn't know if she could face her little sister, leave alone the fact that it would be on daily basis at work. She knew Aimee was good with guns too, but her sister had built a reputation in the world of ballistics that even she couldn't ignore. Even though that older sister happened to be Calleigh Duquesne, America's own bullet girl.

Calleigh totally forgot about checking back on Delko, or anything she was supposed to be doing that day. At the end of the day, after driving around in Miami, she had missed 4 calls, all from Horatio. She also had a couple of text messages on her phone, one from Wolfe asking where she was and one from Delko saying that Horatio was looking for her. But she wasn't going back to work this night. She needed to prepare for seeing Aimee again.

There weren't many things Calleigh failed in her life. But she had always felt she had failed her little sister by not taking enough care of her. And now Calleigh Duquesne was scared of facing her own sister again.

Horatio figured Calleigh wasn't going to answer his calls or come back to work. He didn't really understand why Calleigh was so upset about having her sister work at the lab. He understood she was upset about what had happened with her ex-boyfriend, but her sister seemed to be very aware of the effects of guns. It must be something else, there must be another reason. And Horatio was going to find out.

With one click he send the e-mail. After making a few calls he decided to notify Aimee Hayes that she was accepted and that she should call him ASAP to make an appointment. Less than 5 minutes after he send the e-mail to Aimee, his phone rang.

"Hello Mister Caine, this is Aimee Hayes, you asked me to call you" the voice on the other side of the line said. Horatio smiled to himself, yep this was definitely Calleigh's sister.

"Hello Miss Hayes. That was fast" Horatio replied.

"Yes, I was still working online Sir, I am currently working at the university's student office because I already finished my courses" Aimee eagerly replied.

"I would like to inform you that you have the job. Do you know you will be replacing your sister in the ballistics lab?"

Horatio heard a deep sigh on the other side of the line.

"Yes, I am aware of that Sir. Does that mean she quit her job?"

"No, she is transferred to another lab in our department. And you can call me Horatio"

"Ok, Sir..erm Horatio. May I ask why my sister stopped working at the ballistics lab?" Aimee asked.

Horatio wondered why Aimee didn't know that. Obviously the two sisters were not in contact with each other.

"You are going to have to ask her that yourself. I was just wondering when you can start Miss Hayes"

"You can call me Aimee, Miss Hayes makes me feel so old" she grinned.

"Aimee, when you can start" Horatio asked again. It was obvious Calleigh's sister was younger, and more talkative.

"I already booked a flight. I will be arriving in Miami in 2 days. Erm Si..Horatio, is it possible that the lab can arrange an apartment for me? I haven't been in Miami in a while and I sort of don't have contacts anymore." Aimee started to rant.

"I think you can call your sister about that Aimee. She might be able to help you out" Horatio heard the hesitation. When Aimee didn't reply he smiled to himself, it was like he was talking to Calleigh. The young woman knew it was best to not argue with that, and she just took a breath and swallowed it, just like Horatio had seen her older sister do lots of times.

"Thank you Horatio. I will see you in 2 days" Aimee said. She hoped her new boss wouldn't notice that she lost her composure for a second.

Horatio hung up the phone with a smile. Two sisters in one lab, that was going to be one hell of a ride. He decided to put out a memo for tomorrow, he wanted to tell everyone at the same time he found a new person for the ballistics lab.

Calleigh sat in her car, staring at the ocean. She didn't hear her phone ringing the first few times, but an annoying noise like that was hard to ignore.

"Duquesne" she answered.

"Hey" said the voice on the other side.

Calleigh's heart seemed to stop beating when she heard her sister's voice. She did not know what to say.

"Calleigh, are you there?" Aimee tried again.


	2. I guess I can no longer avoid you

**_Chapter 2: I guess I can no longer avoid you_**

"Calleigh" Aimee repeated again.

Calleigh was dumbstruck, she had no idea what to say. She hadn't prepared for talking to Aimee yet, she hadn't expected to hear her sisters' voice yet.

"Hey" she managed to stutter. _Great Calleigh, that's a very good way to start a conversation._

"I'm coming back to Miami" was all she heard her younger sister say.

"I know" Calleigh replied, again kicking herself for the seemingly total lack of vocabulary she had. _And now you are even sounding like a teenager._

Aimee started laughing. She was so nervous when she dialled her sisters number, she could only call it in emergencies, well this seemed like one. It made her feel relieved when her sister sounded just as nervous as she was.

"Look at us Cal" Aimee snorted

"I know" Calleigh replied. She was laughing at herself, in her head. It was good to hear her younger sister laugh though, Calleigh realised it was a sound she had missed over the years. _All this time, and this is all you can say Calleigh Duquesne?_

"Cal, can you help me out? I need a place to stay until I find my own apartment" Aimee asked when she could properly talk again.

"You can stay with me" Calleigh said. She was amazed her own voice said that, first of all it was more than one word, and second, she just invited her sister to stay with her. _Oh my god_ Calleigh thought to herself _help me_.

"Thanks Cal. Erm I'll arrive the day after tomorrow at 7 AM" Aimee said. Her voice was filled with hope, Calleigh let her stay at her apartment, that was a whole step.

She loved her older sister, who was her role model. Ever from when she was a little kid she always looked up to her sister. Her big sister who was so smart, so driven and who always took care of her when their parents weren't there for a change. Aimee wondered what had changed, what made Calleigh so distant. In the beginning when Calleigh went to college, she would call every day to make sure her little sister was fine. When she went to university that changed from once a week to once in every while, especially when Aimee herself went to college. The last time Aimee saw her older sister was on TV just before she went to Spain. Aimee laughed uncomfortably to herself, it was ridiculous that she hadn't seen her own sister in such a long time. She was never close with her family, but her sister was her everything. And deep down, her sister still was her everything, she just didn't know what went wrong.

"I will pick you up from the airport ok?" Calleigh said after a long pause. Even after all this time she still knew her little sister inside out. She could almost hear Aimee thinking through the phone.

"Thanks" Aimee sighed "For everything"

"It's ok. I'll see you in 2 days then" Calleigh said. She found it was time to end the conversation, it bothered her that the contact she had with her little sister was so uncomfortable.

"Yeah, see you in 2 days. Bye sis" was the last Aimee said before hanging up.

The word sis Aimee said before hanging up caused some deep rooted feelings to stir up in Calleigh. Aimee always used to call her sis, it was the nickname they used for each other when they were younger. Calleigh couldn't help but smile. Even though it was really scary to face her again, her little sister was coming home.

When Calleigh put her phone down, she decided to go home and make some room in her apartment.

Later that evening Calleigh was lying in her bed. She couldn't catch her sleep because her mind seemed to work overtime. She couldn't help but wonder what Aimee looked like now, they really looked like each other when they were kids . They hadn't seen each other in about 10 years, which is a shame since they were so close when they were younger. She knew why she hadn't seen her sister in years, it was her fault. She was the one who had failed her sister. She was the one who had been avoiding Aimee for years, most people she knows don't even know she has a sister. Suddenly Calleigh felt really mean, she could imagine it would've hurt Aimee a lot.

By the time Calleigh fell asleep, it was time for Aimee to get up. Today was her last day in Spain, and she had so many people to say goodbye to. Her life in Spain was so busy that she never had the time to stop and think about her life back in the States. She knew at least a dozen friends who would want to trade with her, everyone seemed to want to live in Florida, and especially in Miami.

After a tiring day of saying goodbye to her friends and the people that had become her family, Aimee got in the plane to Miami. She had mixed feelings about leaving her home and going to Miami. It was odd how she saw Spain more as her home than the place where she was actually born. She remembered the time when she was young, when her parents would drown their sorrows with alcohol, it was always Calleigh who tried to protect her. It was always Calleigh who took her away from the sight of her parents being drunk. Even though Calleigh tried, Aimee wasn't stupid. She knew what was going on, no matter how young she was. She was 25 years old now, but it still made her cry, knowing she was a mistake.

Suddenly Aimee remembered this one night when Calleigh and her were watching television while their parents were fighting in the room next to them. When their mother attacked their father verbally again, Calleigh had put her hands over Aimee's ears. They both knew what their mother was going to say, she would always use it against him when they fought. The thought of Calleigh trying to protect her still made her smile. She remembered Calleigh's already big eyes growing even bigger when they heard their mother saying that Aimee should have never been born. Calleigh tried to tighten the grip on Aimee's ears to prevent her from hearing any more.

A tear ran down Aimee's cheek, only now she realised how much she had missed Calleigh all those years. How much she had needed her older sister in all those years. Aimee sighed _this was going to be a long flight_.

The next morning Calleigh woke up really early. She glanced at her alarm clock, which showed her that it was only 5 AM. She tried to turn around to get some more sleep before getting up to pick up her sister. But as soon as the thought of Aimee came to her mind, she knew she wasn't going to sleep any longer. With a deep sigh she got up. She wondered what this day would bring her, she was scared it would be awkward.

When Aimee got out of the plane, she almost felt sick with nerves. Her stomach was twitching and her palms were sweaty. In her mind she laughed at herself _it's not like I'm meeting the president, jeeze Hayes compose yourself!_ Of course, waiting for her bags took way too long. Aimee was about to go and ask someone what had happened to the luggage when the luggage belt started moving _finally!_

Calleigh was looking at the sliding doors of the arrival hall, she felt very nervous. Her heart was beating like she had just ran around the block a few times. _Come on Duquesne, compose yourself!_ She tried to tell herself, but that didn't really help. She closed her eyes for a bit and took a deep breath, hoping this would help. When she opened her eyes, it seemed her heart skipped a beat. Just at that moment a young blonde woman came through the sliding doors. It was definitely Aimee, it was like Calleigh was looking into a mirror that made her a couple of years younger. Ever since the last time she had seen her younger sister, Aimee had grown into a woman who looked very much like Calleigh herself.

Aimee's eyes lit up when she saw her older sister standing there. In a white suit, just like she was almost always wearing when she was on TV. Aimee smiled as she waved at her sister. It felt like her heart was beating in her throat, she was finally with her sister again. Aimee's heart sank a little when Calleigh didn't wave back at her, but the look in Calleigh's eyes spoke volumes. Calleigh's eyes had lit up the same way as Aimee's did when she first spotted her older sister.

"Hey" Calleigh said. She felt awkward, and she was still cursing herself for not being able to compose herself.

"Hey" Aimee answered. She was a bit disappointed that her sister didn't give her a hug.

"Let's go. I'm sure you are hungry and tired" Calleigh said, taking one of Aimee's bags.

Aimee grew more disappointed by the second, Calleigh seemed cold to her. She hoped it was just temporary because on the plane, she decided that she wanted to restore every bit of the great relationship they had when they were younger.

It was just as Calleigh had hoped it would not be. Awkward. She had just taken her younger sister's bags when she realised she could've hugged her before doing that. But then again, maybe Aimee didn't want that. After all they hadn't seen or spoken each other in ages. It made Calleigh feel ashamed of herself again.

The drive to Calleigh's apartment was quiet. Both women seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. Aimee glanced over at Calleigh a few times. And every time she did, she got the same odd feeling. She wanted to hug her sister and hold her until all the awkwardness would have disappeared and she wanted to tell her sister all about her life. If there was something Aimee hated, it was uncomfortable silences like these.

Calleigh led her sister into her apartment and showed her around. It seemed she felt more and more uncomfortable as time passed, _shouldn't it be the other way around?_

"You must be tired. Do you want to sleep?" Calleigh said, resting her hand on Aimee's shoulder.

The sudden weight on her shoulder startled Aimee, Calleigh was standing behind her and had put her hand on her shoulder. She turned around to face Calleigh, as she looked into Calleigh's eyes, she saw something that looked like a cue for her.

"Cal" Aimee whispered before falling into her sister's arms.

"Aimee" Calleigh whispered back, wrapping her arms around her slightly taller sister.

They stood there, holding each other for what seemed like an eternity. Calleigh could feel Aimee's tears rolling in to her neck as she held her sister. The scent of Aimee was still the same as when they were kids, only now it was mixed with the faint scent of a perfume. Calleigh closed her eyes and started stroking Aimee's hair.

"Don't cry" Calleigh heard herself say. Those two little words brought back memories. It was what she always said to her little sister when she was crying.

Aimee pulled back and looked at Calleigh. "I'm sorry" she said.

Calleigh smiled. "You always told me that, remember?" she wiped the tears off Aimee's cheek "Welcome home" she whispered with a smile.

Aimee smiled and dried her face. "I have to get ready. I'm supposed to meet Horatio this morning"

Calleigh looked shocked "Right away? Are you sure?"

Aimee just nodded. "And I think you have to work too right?"

Calleigh looked to the floor "I just kinda hoped…., well yeah I have to work too"

Calleigh was disappointed, she had hoped Aimee and she could spend some more time together. After all it had been ages since they had seen each other.

When Calleigh entered the Miami Dade Crime Lab with Aimee following her track, they had lots of people staring at them.

"It looks like we came straight from the circus. Did you pay these people to watch me?" Aimee joked.

Calleigh laughed "No, they always stare at me like that"

"Yeah right" Aimee snorted.

"Hey!" Calleigh said, slapping Aimee's arm.

Aimee couldn't help but laugh. It felt great to be in the lab with her sister, she was sure it was going to be the best time of her life.

"Horatio" Calleigh said while stepping into his office "meet Aimee Hayes" she continued as she pulled her sister into the office.

"Aimee" Horatio said with a smile and put out his hand "Horatio Caine". Horatio laughed to himself in his head, they were most definitely sisters. If he hadn't known Calleigh was 6 years older, they could've convinced him they were twins.

"Calleigh I would like to talk to your sister for a bit, you can go and get the other's and meet me in the meeting room" Horatio continued while he sat down.

Calleigh nodded and left.

"So, Aimee. Are you ready to start work today?" the redheaded supervisor asked.

"Yes. I'm very happy to be here" Aimee took a deep sigh "And erm Sir, Calleigh doesn't like it if you keep referring to me as her sister. I'd rather you call me Aimee, just Aimee, not Aimee, Calleigh's sister. We both still have to get used to the sister part" Aimee grinned uneasily "We haven't seen each other in years"

Horatio smiled "Ok, just Aimee" he said. So they hadn't seen each other in years. And Aimee seemed to be a lot more willing to talk, so maybe he could figure out that way what had happened to them.

"Let's go then Aimee. I will introduce you to the team" Horatio got up and opened the door for the new employee.

"Let's go" Aimee said full of confidence. Knowing her sister was around, made her feel like she could take on the whole world.


	3. A day in the life of

**_Chapter 3: A day in the life of…_**

All the employees of the Miami Dade Crime Lab had assembled in the meeting room. They were all waiting for Horatio to brief them about the new co-worker. Wolfe was wondering what Calleigh was so nervous about. Delko noticed Calleigh was different than normal but decided not to hassle her about it, if she wanted him to know, she would tell him. Instead he asked her if she was ok. She smiled at him and they started talking.

Wolfe saw Horatio coming first, with a blonde woman following him, a gorgeous blonde his mind added for him. Although the blonde looked awfully familiar, he couldn't help but stare. As the door of the meeting room opened the hum of voices in the room stopped. Everyone seemed to pay attention to Horatio.

"Hello everyone, I would like to introduce you to our new colleague of the ballistics lab. This is Aimee Hayes"

Eyes seemed to become bigger and people did not only stare at Aimee, Calleigh also seemed to be the point of interest.

"I guess the looks give it away already" Aimee snorted, making some of her new colleagues laugh.

When Aimee looked at Calleigh, she felt bad for her. She knew the look in her older sister's eyes all too well, she was feeling very uncomfortable.

"Ok everyone, back to work. We have a lot of work to do today, and unfortunately a day only has 24 hours" Horatio said to end the awkwardness for both Aimee and Calleigh.

Aimee had planned to talk to Calleigh before shift started, but Calleigh had already left and was nowhere to be found. On her way to the ballistics lab, she could still feel people looking at her. Suddenly the courage she had earlier, had sank into some place deep down. She just wanted to hide somewhere and wait until the day was over.

Once she entered the lab, her mood totally changed again. The smell of gunpowder and the look and feel of the lab made her feel comfortable again. While most people would get uncomfortable around guns, Aimee found some sort of peace there. First she started with looking around in the shelves and cabinets to find her way around the lab. After about half an hour she was ready to start processing the pile of evidence that was left there for her.

She was firing some test shots when she felt a presence. She turned around and saw a dark haired guy standing in the doorway of her lab. She took of her gloves and headphones and walked towards him to introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Aimee Hayes"

The guy shook her hand before speaking "Ryan Wolfe".

Aimee flashed a big smile at Wolfe.

"So, what can I do for you Ryan?" she said, hoping he would be ok with the first name basis she started off with.

"Well Aimee" Ryan said, stressing the gorgeous woman's name "I was wondering if you were working on my bullets yet"

Aimee turned around to check. "Is it the Janssen's case?" she asked turning her head to face him.

Ryan nodded as he walked towards the desk Aimee had walked to seconds before. He stood next to her while she was putting the bullets under the microscope. While she was explaining to him what made the bullets match, he was staring in the microscope, moving a little closer to the blonde woman.

Aimee laughed to herself, she could swear this new colleague was flirting with her.

Ryan looked up from the microscope and found himself staring straight into Aimee's big blue eyes. All he managed to do was flash her a goofy smile before they got interrupted.

"Ryan, can I talk to you for a sec?" It was Calleigh, who was standing in the doorway.

Ryan turned red. "Oooh I'm in trouble" he kidded towards Aimee, who laughed at him.

"What can I help you with Calleigh" Ryan said when he joined her in the hallway. He glanced over at Aimee who was back to work again already.

"Do that again, and you will find out what trouble really means" Calleigh snapped at him.

_Whoa there Duquesne!_ Ryan thought. He was amazed by the mean tone in Calleigh's voice.

Calleigh's blood was boiling. She couldn't believe Ryan was flirting with her sister on her first day of work. No scratch that, she couldn't believe Ryan was flirting with her sister. _THE NERVE that guy has!_ She was so angry, she just turned around and walked away, not even mentioning what she actually came down to the lab for.

The rest of the day Calleigh worked hard on focusing on her work and avoiding Ryan. This first day of Aimee seemed to be a drama for her older sister. This day was a disaster. Aimee had beeped her twice already, but she did not want to see her sister now. She had to admit to herself that she still wasn't ready. Even so, she decided to go down to the ballistics lab because she was expecting some test results back from a case she was working on.

Aimee wondered why she hadn't seen her sister all day. In the morning she had seen the discomfort in her sister's eyes, she hoped the discomfort had disappeared by now. Her sister seemed to be very busy anyway, she had beeped her twice already about some test results and her sister still hadn't come by. While she was thinking about her older sister, Calleigh came walking into the lab.

"Hey" Aimee said to her sister

"You beeped me? Do you have my test results?" Calleigh asked.

Aimee was stunned by the professional way her sister was approaching her. She had to admit it kind of hurt her. This morning when Calleigh held her, she felt like she had her sister back again, but now it felt like her sister was slipping away again. Aimee didn't want to give her feelings away so she pretended like nothing happened.

"Yeah. I wonder why you give your evidence to me though, I think you can do a way better job on processing them than I do. I mean you are America's bullet girl" Aimee said with a smile, stressing the bullet girl part.

"You are the one working here, not me" Calleigh simply answered. She was amazed at how cold she sounded. This was work, and work is her everything _or isn't it?_

"Sorry" Aimee mumbled. _Yup, did you hear that sis? That was my heart…breaking_, her mind sounded so much more cynical than she thought she really was.

"The bullets weren't a match to the gun you found at the scene. But I did find something though, the bullets are from Sinterfire" Aimee looked at her sister, who knew right away what she meant. Aimee continued "So that means it's is probably.."

"I know Aimee, thank you" Calleigh cut her off, taking the file with her. As she walked out of the lab, she left behind a stunned Aimee. Calleigh was hitting herself, she was being really rude, and she didn't even know why. She knew Aimee was only trying to help.

Calleigh still found it weird to hear her sister tell her about evidence, or even hear terms and names that come up in bullet processing coming over her sister's lips. Calleigh had to admit, she was good.

Aimee was really hurt by what had just happened. Partially she knew that Calleigh and her should be professional at work, but still, that didn't mean Calleigh could just pretend they weren't related at all. They could be professional and related. Aimee sighed and continued her work, it seemed that everyone had been saving up evidence for her to work on.

During her break, Aimee decided to go down to the morgue to introduce herself to Alexx Woods. She always had a big interest in pathology, but in the end guns won.

Alexx Woods was pleasantly surprised by her unexpected visitor. When she looked up she first thought it was Calleigh visiting her, but something was different about this girl, she seemed younger.

"Hi" Aimee said shyly. She saw how the pathologist was staring at her and it made her feel uncomfortable.

"Hey sugar" Alexx said, trying to make the new girl feel comfortable.

"I'm Aimee Hayes, the new girl at the ballistics lab" Aimee said while slowly walking towards Alexx to shake her hand. Hayes, that was a name she hadn't heard in a while, so Aimee was still going by her father's name, unlike her sister.

Alexx removed her latex gloves and shook Aimee's hand.

"I'm Alexx Woods. What brings you down here?" she said with a smile.

"Interest" Aimee giggled. "I've always been interested in pathology, and I've heard you are really good" Aimee felt herself turning red, and felt more and more stupid by the second. Why was Alexx staring at her?

"Interesting" Alexx said with a smile "And I assume you are Calleigh's sister?"

"It's hard to miss, isn't it" Aimee sighed. "At first I thought it was going to be great to work here. But the whole being Calleigh Duquesne's little sister thing, I'm sick of it already."

"Oh sugar, don't worry about that. It will only be for a little while" Alexx could see Aimee was upset. Aimee's eyes gave away way more than the eyes of her older sister. Alexx had spent years trying to figure Calleigh out, but she never succeeded. But it seemed that Aimee was more of an open book.

Aimee sighed again. Something about Alexx made her feel comfortable. "And I can't figure out Calleigh either"

Alexx laughed "I've been trying that for years, so if you can't then I think I'll never be able to"

"I haven't seen my sister in years before this morning" Aimee confessed "I'm sure you know more about her than I do"

The young woman sounded sad. Alexx felt compassion for the girl. "Well honey, then it is your job to do something about that don't you think? I have 5 brothers and sisters, and I work hard to maintain a good bond with them"

When Aimee wanted to reply, Alexx interrupted her. "Don't say it's different. It's what YOU make of it"

Aimee smiled. "So, is there any chance you can let me look in on this autopsy?" She started feeling uncomfortable with the subject and tried to change it without Alexx realising it was on purpose.

Alexx smiled to herself _Just like her sister_. _Do they really think I don't notice they want to change subjects?_

"Of course honey" she said to her new colleague, dropping the subject. It was nice to have someone who was interested in her work.

Aimee enjoyed the autopsy, Alexx explained every step she was taking. Eager as a young child Aimee tried to remember every detail Alexx told her.

The more time Alexx spend with Aimee, the more it confirmed for her that Calleigh and Aimee were so much alike. She remembered when Calleigh first set foot in the morgue. The young blonde wanted to know everything too, just like her sister who was now standing next to Alexx. She wondered what had happened between the two women though, every time she mentioned Calleigh, it seemed Aimee seemed to build an instant wall. She decided she would ask Calleigh about it when the blonde CSI would enter the morgue again.

"Alexx, thank you so much for this." Aimee said, giving Alexx a pat on the shoulder 'I really have to go now, I think it's way past the end of my break" she continued with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Anytime sugar, now you go back and impress them up there" Alexx said with a smile. She had really enjoyed spending time with Aimee.

When Aimee returned to her lab, she found her redheaded supervisor waiting for her. It startled her and made her blush, she knew she was late.

"I'm sorry Sir, I was at the morgue with Alexx and I got caught up and…"

"Aimee, you were supposed to call me Horatio, remember?" he smiled. He needed to cut off the rant his new employee started. "It's ok, it was nice of you to introduce yourself to Alexx"

"Thanks" Aimee said, turning red as a tomato.

"I heard that you have done quite some processing already. My CSI's are happy with you"

This compliment only made Aimee turn even redder.

"Calleigh told me you haven't slept at all before you came in. You must be tired right now. You can go home and catch up on some sleep" Horatio continued.

"I don't really have a home. I'd rather stay here and work" Aimee said bitterly.

"Go home Aimee" Horatio said with a soft voice. "I don't want to see you until the start of shift tomorrow" he added with a smile.

Aimee sighed, she was the last one to object to her new boss. "Ok" she mumbled.

Horatio put his hand on Aimee's shoulder, who was already clearing up the desk they were standing at. "I hope you are enjoying your work."

Aimee nodded and smiled at her boss. "Oh yes I am. It's a bit awkward with all the stares, but I will get over that" she joked.

On the inside Aimee felt far from joking, but she didn't want to seem off balance on her first day. When Aimee had put away her coat in her locker and stepped outside the Crime Lab, she could feel the cool Miami breeze in her hair. It was comforting. She realised that Calleigh hadn't given her a key to the apartment, so she decided to walk around Miami for a while.

When Calleigh finished shift and walked out of the Crime Lab, it started to rain. The sky was dark grey, like a storm was coming. Calleigh sighed, she hoped Aimee had found a place to stay dry and warm. In a matter of minutes, the rain was pouring down. When she arrived at home, her younger sister was sitting on the doorstep, she looked like a drowned rat.

"Hey" Aimee said when she saw her sister getting out of the car. She was glad her sister finally got home, she was getting really cold.

"Hey. Here take my coat, let's get you inside" Calleigh said. She felt really bad for forgetting to give Aimee a spare key.

While Aimee took a shower and put on dry clothes, Calleigh made some coffee for both of them. She also decided to make some food for her and her sister, since she was hungry and figured Aimee would want something to eat too.

"Here you go" Calleigh said while handing Aimee a cup of hot coffee "I hope you are hungry because I've made dinner"

Aimee smiled at her sister, she was still the same. Always taking care of her.

While Aimee ate her dinner, Calleigh turned on the TV to watch the news. Her jaw almost dropped to the floor when she saw a picture of her sister on the news. She mumbled some curses and glanced over at Aimee.

_The new ballistics expert of the Miami Dade Crime Lab is put on the case. Aimee Hayes, the sister of the previous ballistics expert, who quit her job for personal reasons, started her job today. With last week's gang shooting, this will come in handy for the Crime Lab. _

Aimee looked at her sister in disbelief, why were they on the news?

Calleigh was just about to turn of the TV when her phone rang. When she checked the caller's ID she sighed. It was their father.

"Hey daddy" she said, looking over at Aimee who stared at her with anger and disbelief in her eyes.

"Ok daddy, I will come over right away" Calleigh said while hanging up.

"You've got to be kidding me" Aimee shouted at her sister.

"I'm just going to pick him up and take him home" Calleigh calmly replied.

Aimee shot a death glare at her sister before getting up and storming into the guest room. Calleigh got up to follow her but when Aimee slammed the door shut, she changed her mind. With a sigh Calleigh turned around and left the apartment.

On the way to the bar where she had picked her dad up several times before, Calleigh had lots of thought going through her head. It was hard enough to deal with her sister being back in town, but she had no idea how to deal with her sister AND her father. Their father would probably want to see Aimee, which Aimee obviously didn't want.

She found her father sitting on a barstool. When he spotted her he tried to get up, but it seemed harder than it was. Calleigh helped her father get up and supported him on the way outside.

"Why didn't you say anything? You didn't think I would find out?" He said to her with a thick tongue.

"She only arrived today" Calleigh said while trying to get her father in the car.

"I wanna see her, I wanna see my daughter" he continued. He wasn't really cooperating with his daughter so she had a hard time pushing him in the car.

"I will talk to her and see what I can do ok?" she said while closing the door and got in on the driver's side.

She dropped her father off at his house and went home. The apartment was quiet and the door to the guest room was still shut. Calleigh decided not to bother Aimee, she was probably sleeping.

The next morning when she got up, the apartment was still as quiet as it was the night before. She had expected Aimee to be up already but there was still no sign of her sister. She opened the door to the guest room to check on her. Immediately she ran off to her bedroom to get her cell phone.

"Caine" the voice on the other side of the line said.

"Horatio" Calleigh said "Aimee is gone"


	4. Twice the beauty,twice the brains

**_Chapter 4: Twice the beauty, twice the brains, twice the trouble…_**

"What do you mean?" Horatio replied. He figured they had a fight and Aimee was just somewhere to get some time off from her older sister.

"Last night I had to pick up my dad, and Aimee was upset about that. When I got home I thought she was asleep so I went to bed, but when I checked this morning….Horatio her bed was still made up, she didn't sleep here last night" Calleigh couldn't hold back a sob.

Only one day, one single day, and again she had failed in protecting her little sister. She wondered if her sister would ever forgive her for that.

"Stay there, I will come over. I'm sure she is somewhere" Horatio said, trying to calm Calleigh down. Normally they would wait 24 hours before starting to investigate, but since Aimee was one of their own, and the woman had nowhere else to go, he did get a bit worried.

Within 10 minutes Horatio was in Calleigh's apartment. He was amazed at how good Calleigh was at keeping her composure, around him she was all professional. But he could see she was still holding back her tears.

"I'm a bad sister, I don't even know where to look" Calleigh sighed.

"You're not a bad sister Calleigh. She must be somewhere" Horatio put his hand on Calleigh's shoulder. "We will find her, don't worry" he said "I'm sure she will be at the lab on time, she is very dedicated to her work"

Calleigh wanted to believe him, but something just felt wrong. Horatio told her they should just go to work and they would see Aimee there.

When they arrived at work Calleigh walked straight to her old lab to see if her sister was there. Her heart sank when she saw the lab was empty. Aimee wasn't there, and she hadn't been here either.

When she walked into Horatio's office, her bad feelings were confirmed. Horatio was reading a letter and he looked worried. When he looked up and saw her, he sighed and asked her to close the door.

All morning she was able to hold back her tears. But one tear managed to escape and was rolling over her cheek when she read the letter Horatio had received earlier. She found it hard to breathe.

"Ryan, that bastard" Calleigh wanted to shout, but her voice was merely a whisper.

Horatio looked at her. "What did you say?" he asked. He couldn't believe his ears, did he just hear her blame Ryan?

"Ryan told that reporter about Aimee, now the whole world knows she works here. That's why they took her!" Calleigh almost shouted. She totally had lost control over herself. Not only had she failed to protect her sister, now her sister was taken away from her and she hadn't even noticed until the morning.

"You are overreacting Calleigh" Horatio said calmly "Calm down"

"Calm down? Calm down? My sister is kidnapped" Calleigh said, she could feel she was losing her calm.

"I think it is best you go home. I will personally make sure Aimee gets back and I will personally keep you updated" Horatio said, placing his hand on hers.

"No, I want to help" then blonde said with a determined voice.

Horatio knew there was no arguing with Calleigh when she was like this.

Calleigh took the letter with her, not that she needed anything to remind her of the text that was written on it, but she wanted to process it. The text was echoing over and over in her head.

_We've got the new bullet girl. Hand over the evidence of last week's gang shooting, and she will be back safe and sound. Instructions will follow._

She failed her sister once already, and now she was going to do everything in her power to get her sister back again. She couldn't lose her again.

Aimee woke up with a pounding headache, and also her ribs were hurting, she found it hard to breathe. She wanted to rub her head but that was impossible, her hands were tied. She fluttered her eyelids to try to adjust to the dark room she was in. When she looked around and didn't notice anything familiar it struck her. Suddenly her memory seemed to come back to her. She was abducted!

Suddenly someone turned the lights on. Aimee blinked a few times to adjust to the light. She took a quick glance at the room, it was a small room, and she was lying on a mattress that looked like it came straight from a garbage can. Next to the door there was a big window, she could see two men in the hallway behind the window, they were talking. Aimee focused real hard on their lips.

"Spanish" she mumbled. The two men were speaking Spanish. One of the guys came in, he spoke to her in broken English. Aimee replied to him in Spanish, which seemed to surprise the guy. That was until she started calling him names, which was also the last she remembered.

Calleigh was rushing through the halls of the Miami Dade Crime Lab, looking for Ryan. She was going to tell him what he had done by not keeping his mouth shut. She found Ryan in one of the trace labs. She slammed the door behind her, making Ryan look up at her.

"You" Calleigh hissed she walked over to him slamming her hands on the table he was working at.

"What?" Ryan wondered what he had done now.

"If you had kept your mouth SHUT, Aimee would still be here, you bastard" she shouted at him.

"What?" Ryan asked again. He didn't know what Calleigh was talking about.

Calleigh got so angry. She got up and pinned Ryan to the wall.

"It's your fault they took her! If you hadn't told that reporter girlfriend of yours about her, no one would have known she was my sister, no one would have known she was working at the lab" she shouted into his face.

Ryan was surprised by the force Calleigh used against him. He never thought the blonde CSI was so strong. He was intimidated by her, he had never expected her to be like this. He had never expected the blonde CSI with the honey sweet voice to be so rough.

"I didn't.."

"Shut up Ryan" Calleigh shouted, pushing him even harder against the wall.

Before she could continue her rant, Calleigh felt herself being pulled away from Ryan.

"Whoa there" She heard Delko tell her while he pulled her away to the other side of the lab.

"Give me one minute" Calleigh hissed "just one minute with him alone and I'll…"

"I don't think so" Horatio's calm voice said.

"You" the supervisor continued "are going home"

Calleigh opened her mouth to object but she didn't get a chance to speak.

"You are not helping Calleigh. I want you to go home" Horatio said.

Delko loosened his grip on Calleigh's arms, hoping she was calmed down now.

When Aimee woke up again she felt like she had been sleeping on a bed of nails. All the bones in her body hurt, even in places she didn't even know she had bones. She slowly opened her eyes and got reminded of her situation. She tried to sit up, but fell back on the mattress right away from the nausea that hit her.

"Whoa, bad idea" she mumbled to herself. She seemed to have a lot of bad ideas lately. What idiot in their right mind had the nerve to call their abductor an asshole? Aimee grinned to herself, it was just so her. Aimee Hayes and her big mouth.

The grin quickly changed into a wince of pain, her whole body was aching. She was in a lot of pain, it almost made her pass out. Aimee closed her eyes and tried to focus on other things. Calleigh. Her sister must be worried about her. Oh God, she hoped her older sister knew she didn't just run away and was looking for her now.

A sudden noise startled her. The door to the room she was held in opened and a man walked in. It was the same man who had beaten her up earlier.

"Painkillers please" Aimee pleaded. She repeated the same thing in Spanish because she wasn't sure if this knucklehead understood English properly.

The man, who looked like he was from South-America, laughed at Aimee. His breath smelled like alcohol, which made the blonde feel sick.

"No pain, no gain" the man said in his broken English while he put a plate with food next to the mattress Aimee was on.

Before the man left, he kicked Aimee in the side once more. The pain flashed through her like lightning. She closed her eyes and all she could see was black.

Calleigh sat in Horatio's office, staring straight ahead. The expression on her face was blank, nothing like Horatio had ever seen before.

"You want way out of line" Horatio said to the blonde CSI. He knew he wasn't really getting to her but it was protocol. And since their team was being watched closely, he needed to follow protocol.

"You attacked a co-worker for no reason" the older man continued.

That seemed to snap Calleigh out of whatever she was thinking about.

"no reason" she hissed "NO reason?" She got up and leaned over her boss' desk "HE tells his reporter girlfriend about EVERYTHING going on here! If he had kept his mouth shut, they wouldn't have known about Aimee. Do I need to remind you that the life of one of your employees, MY sister, is in danger….if she isn't dead already!" Calleigh shouted with tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe no one else saw it was Ryan who caused all this.

"Her captors want us to turn over evidence Horatio, if Ryan had kept his mouth shut, no one would have known Aimee was the ballistics expert on the case"

"Calm down Calleigh. We are doing everything we can to get her back. The whole lab has finding her as their number one priority. I will talk to Ryan and YOU are going home" Horatio calmly said before nodding to the police officer standing outside his office.

"This officer is going to take you home. He will be posting outside your house to make sure you are safe"

Calleigh looked at her boss. In a way she knew he was right, but she felt so damn responsible for what had happened to her sister.

"I will talk to Ryan. You go with this officer now" her boss continued.

Calleigh sighed and decided to do what her boss told her. She knew she had crossed the line and being suspended was the last thing she wanted.

"Horatio" she said softly before leaving his office.

The man nodded at her "I know Calleigh" she said as if he could read her mind "It's ok. I promise I will keep you posted" He smiled at the blonde CSI, hoping that would ease her mind a little.

Calleigh felt embarrassed when she followed the police officer outside. Soon everyone would know what she had done to Ryan and she would get those looks again. Just like yesterday when she came walking in with her sister.

When Calleigh got home, she closed the curtains and put on her pyjamas. She curled up on the couch, hugging a pillow. She didn't know what to do, and Calleigh Duquesne ALWAYS knows what do to. But that was until her sister came back into her life.

She had been staring at the phone in her hand for a while now. She was crying and still hugging the pillow, if she would have been 16 everyone would have thought she was suffering from a broken heart.

Then she decided to do it. In any other situation she would never even have thought about it but this was different. She held the phone to her ear after dialling the number and waited for a response on the other side of the line.

"Daddy?" she said with a voice she didn't even recognize herself. Before she could say any more she started sobbing uncontrollably.


	5. I'm tired of waiting

**_Chapter 5: I'm tired of waiting_**

Calleigh barged into the Miami Dade Crime Lab. Her dad had talked some sense into her. She couldn't sit at home and wait until she heard from her boss whether they found Aimee or not. She almost bumped into Delko when she was on her way to Horatio's office. He looked at her with surprise and stopped her.

"What are you doing here? Didn't Horatio tell you to stay home?"

"Eric, I can't sit home and wait until I hear from you guys" Calleigh pleaded "Would you be able to do that if it was your sister?" she said knowing she would touch a nerve because he was a real family guy.

Delko sighed, he knew Calleigh was right. He wouldn't be able to wait at home either, he would want to do something too.

"Horatio is in the trace lab, talk to him first" he said while letting go of her arm "oh and Calleigh" he said getting the attention of the blonde who was already walking away "Don't attack Ryan again, he is feeling guilty enough already"

Calleigh flashed Delko a faint smile and left. She hoped Horatio would let her help, hell she would even do ballistics.

Horatio looked up to see Calleigh standing in the doorway. He sighed, he had expected to see her back soon. He had seen the anger in the woman's eyes, and he had seen how deeply both sisters cared about each other. It was odd they didn't see each other in such a long time.

"Horatio" Calleigh started, but Horatio didn't let her finish her sentence.

"I know" he said with a smile "I wouldn't be able to either. You can help me out here"

Horatio showed Calleigh pictures of bullets they had found at the crime scene of the gang shooting.

"What can you tell me about there" the red headed supervisor asked her.

Calleigh took the picture in her hand.

".303 British" she said "rare bullets. They go with only a few guns, and seeing the amount of casings I'd say this was an automatic rifle.

Ryan Wolfe walked into the trace lab, surprised to see Calleigh standing there with their boss. Horatio looked up at the young man and at Calleigh.

"I will leave you two alone" he said while getting up. He wanted the two CSI's to talk to each other and apologize.

Calleigh continued her work. Ryan had to apologize first, he was the cause of all this.

Ryan just stood there, staring at Calleigh. It was obvious she wasn't going to apologize first. He sighed, swallowed his pride and started talking first.

"I'm sorry Calleigh" he said.

Calleigh looked up at him and flashed a faint smile. _Apologize to him Duquesne, you were a bit harsh on him. But then again, he deserved it._

"I'm sorry too Ryan" she said at the dark haired guy "we can talk about this later. Right now we have to find my sister" she continued as she went back to her work.

Aimee was woken up brutally by one of her captors. They were ordering her to get up, but that was hard considering her body was sore all over. She was sure she had at least bruised a couple of ribs. She told her captor that she was in pain and couldn't get up, but he only laughed at her and jerked on her arm to encourage her.

She was dragged out of the building she was in and into the back of a car. She tried to remember as much of the car as she could, just in case she'd survive this. It was an old black Ford Taurus, one of the guys was replacing the plates so she couldn't see the number. She counted five captors, they all looked the same, wearing baggy pants and baseball caps. Aimee figured they were from some gang.

When she was pushed into the back of the car, something caught her eye. It was an odd looking gun, a familiar looking gun. She could see with one look that it was a Browning M1919, a machine gun which was used in World War II and the Vietnam War. She wondered where these idiots got this gun.

The car she was in speeded away, almost making her fall over. Things seemed to be wrong, the two guys in the front were arguing in Spanish slang she didn't understand very well. Aimee shot up when she heart gunshots _Oh my god, the car is being shot at!_ Aimee tried to hide and stay away from the gunfire, she only lived by the bullet, she didn't intend to die by it. Memories of her sister entered her mind, suddenly she remembered one day when Calleigh told her that if you listen very carefully you can hear what kind of gun is being fired. Aimee smiled, even when there was a distance between them, she could still learn from her sister. She decided to listen carefully to figure out what was fired.

Several shots were fired again and one of the men came into the back of the car and got the M1919 and started firing back. Aimee's mouth dropped, this M1919 was loaded with .303 British bullets! They were quite rare. Aimee focused on where the casings were going, she had to collect one. She was amazed by how clear she could still think in this situation. That thought almost got blown out of her head when she could feel a bullet flying past her. She had been scared in her life, she had her reasons to be scared in life, but she couldn't really remember a moment in her life she was more scared than now.

Her intentions of focusing on the gunfire to identify the type of gun were soon forgotten. She thought the shots came from a Glock but she had other things to worry about. Another shot was fired, shattering the windshield into a million pieces. The driver temporarily lost control over the steering wheel, making the car slip. It made Aimee feel even more nauseated than she already did. Aimee was so scared she wouldn't survive this, so scared she wouldn't live to see her sister again.

Again a shot was fired, this time it hit the shoulder of the man in the back of the car with her. He fell back and landed on top of her. Blood was flowing all over her and the weight on her made her body hurt all over. Aimee passed out from the pain.

Two men were inspecting the old black Taurus that their gang members took to transport that bullet girl. They were speaking to each other in broken English while inspecting the car.

"They are probably all dead" one man with a black goatee mentioned.

"Search!" the older man ordered him.

When the older man opened the door to the back he pulled out the body of the man who was lying on top of Aimee. He bled to death. The man with the goatee screamed when he saw the older man pulling the body out of the car.

"Eddie, NO" he screamed. He ran over to the lifeless body and took it in his arms.

The older man told the screaming man to shut up and climbed into the car. Aimee was lying there, her body seemed lifeless.

"She is dead" the man with the goatee shouted at the older man "leave her here, she is dead! We need to take care of Eddie" he continued.


	6. Drop me a line

**Author's note: **_Sorry that it took me so long to update guys. The new period started at school and they decided to let us work hard the first few days ;)_

_**Chapter 6: Drop me a line**_

Horatio stuck his head around the corner and saw his CSI's sipping on coffee in the break room.

"We have a crime scene guys, another gang shooting" he said while walking into the room.

Calleigh jumped up and put her coffee away. Delko en Ryan followed her and were ready to go with Horatio in no time.

"Calleigh, you can come but I don't want you anywhere near any evidence ok? You can take photos but no touching the evidence. You are personally involved" Horatio instructed the blonde CSI. He knew it would be of no use to forbid her to come, she'd find her way there one way or another.

When the four CSI's arrived at the scene Alexx Woods was already present. Police officers had taped up the whole block, this crime scene was huge. The center of the crime scene was quite clear, it was a shot up car.

"There is only one dead body, male, probably late twenties from Latin-American descent" Alexx summed up.

Horatio ordered Ryan and Delko to check out the perimeter, and Calleigh to come with him.

Horatio took a look in the car. "Calleigh, can you take some pictures please" he said, pointing at the backseat of the car. "Tell me Alexx, if the body was in the front seat, then why is there blood on the backseat?" Horatio asked.

"Because there were more people involved" Alexx answered.

"Horatio" Calleigh said pointing at the other side of the backseat "there is another blood pool there"

When Horatio took a closer look at the blood pool Calleigh pointed at he saw something interesting. A single long blonde hair. He got his tweezers out of his kit and picked up the hair.

"Calleigh, I suggest you get away from here" he said, not wanting to contaminate the evidence.

"What it is Horatio?" Calleigh asked.

Horatio turned around after bagging the hair. "A long blonde hair" he said.

Calleigh's already big eyes grew two sizes bigger. "She was here..." her voice trailed off. She had to swallow hard and prevent the tears from coming. Aimee had been here, she was in the shooting.

"We don't know that for sure yet. I will get the hair tested" Horatio said. He knew the hair probably belonged to Aimee, it was too much of a coincidence.

Horatio swabbed both pools of blood and let Delko take the rest of the photos before going back to the lab. Tests would reveal whether Aimee was indeed at today's crime scene.

Natalia Boa Vista didn't get nervous often, but today her hands were almost shaking. Ever since Horatio had dropped off evidence, Calleigh Duquesne had been pacing around in her lab. Every 2 minutes the blonde CSI had asked her if she was done yet, it was very annoying. She understood it was a big case but she really wanted Horatio to take Calleigh away from her lab.

When the printer started rattling both Natalia and Calleigh looked up. It was that Natalia was closer to the printer but Calleigh almost ran to the printer almost snatching away the paper right in front of her. The lab tech looked at the paper and up at Calleigh, who was almost hanging at her lips. She handed over the paper to Calleigh. The hair was indeed Aimee's, it was either pulled out or Aimee had pulled it out herself and planted it in the car.

Natalia also tested the blood. One pool of blood was Aimee's, which probably meant she hadn't planted her hair there, she was probably attacked. Seeing the amount of blood, she should still be alive, at least that's what Natalia hoped for her colleague.

"The blood is also hers" Natalia said. She was afraid Calleigh would have an outburst of some sort like she had with Ryan. "But seeing the amount of blood at the scene her wounds weren't fatal"

Calleigh nodded, mumbled a thank you and ran off.

"Horatio" Calleigh said when barging into the morgue. Alexx was performing an autopsy on the body of the gang shooting and Horatio was watching. They both looked up.

"The hair is Aimee's, she was there" Calleigh said

"What about the blood" Horatio asked.

"Hers too" Calleigh continued "but there wasn't a lot of blood, she should still be alive" _I hope_ Calleigh's mind added.

"Thank you" he said to Calleigh "see what you can find on those bullet casings we found"

Calleigh nodded and hurried back to the lab. This evidence gave her hope again, her sister was still alive and she was going to find her, and when she did, she was going to make up for everything that went wrong between them.

"Poor girl" Alexx said while she continued the autopsy "What a way to start a new job. I talked to her on her first day, she was so enthusiastic, even about my work"

Horatio smiled, Aimee was indeed very enthusiastic. "She will be fine, I'll make sure I'll get her back in one piece"

Alexx smiled "That would be a good idea. I think Calleigh and her have a lot of unfinished business they need to attend to"

"I think so too Alexx" Horatio added. He was amazed at Alexx' sharp mind, but when it came to people Alexx could always see right through them.

They continued the autopsy in silence. Alexx managed to recover 4 bullets out of the body, which Horatio took to Calleigh for further processing.

"Gotcha" Calleigh said. She had some shell casings from the crime scene and they matched to the ones Aimee had been processing. They were all .303 British, the same rare bullets. Aimee had been making a list of guns that were compatible with this type of bullet and Calleigh smiled as she looked through it, her sister was good. It made her very proud.

Horatio entered the lab Calleigh was working in. It was funny in a way that she was back to ballistics but still refused to work in the ballistics lab. It was only for a while, but still.

"Here are the bullets we recovered from the body" he said while handing them over to Calleigh.

The blonde CSI started processing them right away, with the grace and expertise she possessed. It was a truly amazing sight to see Calleigh Duquesne working.

Aimee woke up to soft voices she heard above her.

Aimee felt like she was still dreaming, it was hard to open her eyes. It felt like they were glued together. She heard herself groaned from the pain. The groaned she produced seemed to catch the attention of her captors.

"I told you she wasn't dead" she heard someone say in broken English.

"You bitch" Aimee heard one of the men say. She wondered what she had done now. She hardly noticed that she received a blow to the head, even though the pain made her pass out again.

The older guy pulled away the guy who had hit Aimee "we need her alive" he hissed.


	7. She is calling out for me

**_Chapter 7: She is calling out for me_**

When Aimee came by again she was alone and it was dark. The room she was in was filthy and smelly. There was dust on the floor, it looked as if this room hadn't been cleaned since it was built. Aimee felt awful, there was a metal taste in her mouth, probably from her own blood and everything in her body was aching. The longer she was captured, the smaller the chance on survival. She had to drop a line, in case Calleigh or any other CSI came to find her.

Just when Aimee closed her eyes to rest, the sound of an explosion made her sit up. It wasn't the sound of a bomb exploding, but she knew very well what kind of explosion it was. She heard shouting and footsteps on the hallway. Things were going wrong here. As quick as she could she got of the blanket she was on and crawled to the corner of the room. She wrote some things in the dust on the floor, hoping someone would find it.

She figured with how things were going on the hallway right now she'd be moved again soon. A loud thud startled Aimee, a bullet hit the door. Not a second later the glass in the door shattered and she was able to hear the shouting. It seemed a couple of her captors were fighting over what had happened in the shooting earlier. Aimee wondered why they had to fight with guns nowadays; people are using them as toys.

Suddenly one of the men she had seen before came in and roughly jerked on her arm to make her come with him. She cried out from the pain but he didn't pay attention to it. Aimee couldn't move so the man called for help and two men ended up dragging Aimee out of the room.

Again she was shoved in the back of a car, this time it was a red Licoln Navigator. Aimee sat next to the man who had called her a bitch and hit her earlier, he looked at her with disgust on his face. She wondered what she had done to him to deserve that. The car sped off, and with that the men in the car started arguing. There were 3 men in the car with her, and all of them had something else to argue with the other about. _And that's what they call a gang _Aimee laughed to herself, she found the men pathetic.

The man next to her noticed Aimee was smirking.

"What are you laughing about?" he said in bad English.

Aimee mumbled something in Spanish just to mock the guy. She was tired of these games she was subjected to. She didn't even know why they took her. They still hadn't killed her and seemed keen on keeping her alive, so there must be a reason.

The guy, who had a goatee, got so angry with her. He started screaming at her about some guy named Eddie. She just looked at him and didn't say anything.

"That's it. Fuck Pedro" the guy said. He leaned over Aimee and opened the door of the car, which was speeding over a dirt road somewhere in the Glades. Aimee saw the dirt going by really fast, this looked nasty.

"Fuck you bitch" the man with the goatee said to Aimee "you're gonna pay for what you did to Eddie".

With that he pushed Aimee out of the car. He could hear the young woman scream. The driver pulled over the car and started arguing with him.

"What did you do you moron!" he said "you killed her! We were supposed to keep her alive"

"Just drive Angelo" the third man said.

Angelo looked at both men in the backseat and drove off, leaving Aimee to die, if she wasn't dead already.

Calleigh Duquesne and Eric Delko were responding to a call from dispatch about a shooting. Someone had called 911 and said there was a gang shooting going on.

Calleigh followed Delko into the building, both CSI's had their gun drawn, just in case. Delko entered a room on their right, Calleigh did the same with a room on the left. After clearing the room she started processing, as did Delko.

In the back of the room, near the wall was a blanket. When he examined it closer he found blood, he swabbed it and bagged the blanket. He examined the floor with his flashlight, taking pictures of dusty foot prints and what seemed a trail of someone being dragged. When he lit the corner of the room his eyes widened.

"Calleigh" he shouted "Calleigh, come here"

Calleigh rushed over to Delko, the room she was processing didn't hold much evidence and she was almost done with bagging the bullet casings she found. When she entered the room Delko was in she saw his face, his eyes showed a mixture of shock and excitement.

"Check this out" he said, shining his flashlight on the floor in the corner of the room.

Calleigh's eyes widened. "A message" she said. As she read it she felt a mixture of feelings.

"Aimee" she whispered softly. The message was from Aimee, the ballistics terms gave it away, and she recognized as much as was left from Aimee's handwriting.

"SOS MDPD. Glock 21 .45 ACP kB! Lucha. CD LY sis" Delko read out loud "what do you think it means?"

"Well" Calleigh started "MDPD is us, Miami Dade Police Department. God Eric, she is calling out to me" Calleigh whispered.

"She is describing what happened here isn't she?" Delko said, raising his eyebrow at Calleigh.

"There was a fight involving a Glock 21, .45 caliber Automatic Colt Pistol, one of the guns had an explosive malfunction, that's what we call a Kaboom or kB like Aimee wrote here. I have no idea what the last part means though" Calleigh said.

"I'll take some pictures and let one of the decoders figure it out" Delko said "I found blood on a blanket in this room, could be Aimee's"

Calleigh looked as if she was about to cry "God, I hope she is ok" she sighed.

Just when Calleigh and Delko walked out of the building Calleigh's phone rang, it was her boss.

"Duquesne" she said, wondering what her boss had to tell her.

"We found her" was all Horatio said.

"Is she ok?" Calleigh asked, her heart was beating like she just sprinted for a mile and her pals were getting sweaty. They found Aimee, they found her little sister.

"She is in a pretty bad shape, paramedics are taking her to the hospital as we speak." Horatio said, not wanting to upset the CSI too much.

"Talk to me Horatio!" Calleigh shouted, now was not the time to baby her.

"She is unconscious. Severe bruising, several broken ribs, that's all they could establish now. Alexx is with her, she will stay with her in the hospital"

"Where are they going, I'll be right there"

"Miami Dade Memorial" Horatio said before he heard Calleigh hang up the phone.

"Miami Dade Memorial Eric, right now" she shouted as she got in the car. She knew Eric was a good driver, especially when it came to emergencies like this.

Calleigh ran into the hospital. She met with Horatio in the waiting room, he was talking to Alexx.

"Where is she? I want to see her" Calleigh said.

"Are you family?" A doctor asked her. He saw the blonde woman coming in and actually already knew the answer to that question. There was no doubt this women were related, they looked like twins.

"Yes, I am her sister" Calleigh said.

"Come with me Miss Hayes" the doctor said walking down the hall.

"Duquesne, Miss Duquesne" Calleigh corrected him. The doctor raised his eyebrow at her but she didn't care, she had to see Aimee.

When Calleigh entered the IC room tears welled up in her eyes. She could hardly recognize her own sister, she was black and blue all over and covered in bandages.

"Oh my god Aimee" she whispered as she slowly walked to the side of Aimee's bed and took her sister's lifeless hand in hers. "I'm so sorry little one, I'm so sorry" she whispered while gently stroking Aimee's hand with her fingers.

She caught herself using the term little one for her sister again. She hadn't done that since, well a long time ago. Tears were streaming down her face, she had failed Aimee again and the poor girl ended up really hurt and in hospital.

"She's in a pretty bad condition at the moment. She has been beaten up pretty bad for the past few days, and today they threw her out of a moving vehicle. She is a tough one though, it's a surprise she survived all this" the doctor told Calleigh while she was whispering things to her sister.

When he realised Calleigh wasn't really paying attention to what he said the doctor quietly left the room. He decided to leave the two alone for a while.

"Oh little one, what did you get yourself into?" Calleigh said to the unconscious woman. "You are going to be fine, you're going to be ok"

"I promise you little one, I know I've said this before, but this time I'm going to be here to keep my promise, I will never let this happen to you again ok?" Calleigh said.

Alexx who was standing in the doorway overheard the older blonde's monologue and somehow the pieces started to fit together. She decided to knock on the door so Calleigh knew she was there and entered the room.

"Hey Alexx" Calleigh said, with a totally different voice than Alexx had just heard.

"Hey. I'm sorry I should've knocked before coming in" she said to the blonde who was still sitting next to the bed.

"It's ok. You would've found out anyway" Calleigh said. Something in her voice made Alexx worry, it sounded like the blonde CSI felt defeated.

"You can't always protect her you know" Alexx said, sitting down on the other side of the bed.

"I promised her that when we were younger. She needed me, and I just ran off to College. I don't even know what happened to her when I wasn't there, and you know, I don't think I ever want to know." Calleigh said, keeping her eyes on her younger sister.

"I should've been there for her more" Calleigh continued "only I knew how she felt, what it was like, hell maybe I only knew half, but I at least I understood" she paused to sigh "I never thought I'd see her again when I heard she left for Spain. And I don't think I ever would have realised how much I missed her if she hadn't applied for my job and if Horatio hadn't brought her up. When I saw her at the airport, I felt like I was dreaming, she is all grown up and she looks just like me. It made me smile, because when she was little she always said she wanted to be like me, and now look at her" Calleigh started sobbing "I can't even protect her, how could she ever want to be like me"

"Because you are smart, beautiful, determined and independent Calleigh" Alexx said. She was shocked by the confession she just got, she never thought Calleigh would open up like that to her. She also wondered if she had ever seen Calleigh cry before.

Calleigh looked up and flashed a faint smile at Alexx "Thanks" she said.

"She was always the unwanted one Alexx, she was always the mistake, the 'thing' that ruined it all for my parents" Calleigh said, stressing thing "As a kid I promised myself I would make Aimee feel wanted, because I loved her and I wanted her to know that. I can't believe I never followed up on that promise after going to College"

"It's never too late" Alexx said with a smile "she still looks up to you Calleigh, she still knows you love her"

Calleigh looked up at Alex again and smiled "I hope so"

"I know so" Alexx confirmed.


	8. Open your eyes

_**Chapter 8: Open your eyes**_

Horatio walked into Miami Dade Memorial to check up on Aimee, who had been found on a dirt road in the Glades yesterday. If he was really honest, he was also checking up on Calleigh, he knew she was probably still at the hospital.

When he arrived at the room Aimee was lying in, he saw Calleigh sitting at the younger woman's bedside, holding her sister's hand. The blonde CSI had pouches under her eyes and she looked like she hadn't slept all night. Horatio quietly entered the room and closed the door behind him.

Calleigh looked up to see her boss standing there, she smiled at him. She hadn't slept all night because she had been watching Aimee, she wanted to be there when Aimee woke up. She had been watching Aimee like she did when they were kids, just to protect her while she was sleeping.

"How much did you sleep last night" Horatio said without greeting the blonde.

"Horatio, I want to be awake when she wakes up, I owe it to her" Calleigh replied.

"Listen Calleigh, I know you want to be here now. But we really need your help with the shootings. I owe it to her to find who out who did this to her, but I need your help"

Calleigh sighed. She wanted nothing more than to stay with her sister, but it was also important, maybe even more important that they found who did this to her.

"I will stay with Aimee, you go home and get some rest. I will call you the second something happens ok?"

Calleigh didn't really want to go but her body was agreeing with her supervisor. She definitely needed some rest. She slowly got up and stretched.

"Ok, I will be back in a couple of hours" she said, still a little reluctant to go.

As Calleigh left the room, Horatio sat down on the chair that Calleigh had occupied the past hours. He sighed and looked at the hardly recognizable young woman in the bed.

"Hey Aimee, remember me?" he said, hoping she would hear him "I'm sorry I failed you. I promised your sister that I'd protect you and I failed. I heard you left a message for us, that was very smart."

Calleigh wasn't the only one feeling guilty about what happened to Aimee, Horatio also felt he had failed his new bullet girl. He realised he was babying the young woman now, pure out of guilt.

Just as he wanted to continue talking to Aimee, the door to her room was opened. Horatio looked up, wondering who it was.

Ryan Wolfe hesitantly entered the hospital room. He wanted to see his colleague and apologize to her for telling about her to his friend. He never thought she would use it as news, he never thought it would have consequences this big.

"Hey Mr. Wolfe" Horatio said, motioning to the young man.

"She looks pretty bad" was all Ryan managed to say. The way his colleague was laying there made him feel even guiltier.

"She is a fighter, she will be ok" Horatio replied.

"I know I'm suspended" Ryan said "But I just wanted to apologize to her. I never knew she would use it on the news and I never knew…."

"I know Ryan, I know" Horatio said

"Jesus, they weren't very gentle with her" Ryan mumbled as he inspected Aimee.

At that moment, the doctor walked in to check on Aimee.

"Gentlemen" he said politely before checking Aimee's vitals.

"How is she doing?" Horatio asked him

"We don't know exactly. She should wake up soon and only then we can determine if there is any damage to the brain"

Ryan looked at the floor, it felt like someone had just stabbed him in the heart. It was his fault Aimee was here in the first place, and brain damage, that was big. Calleigh was right, he was a bastard.

"Horatio" Ryan said, disturbing the conversation the man was in with the doctor "what can I do? I'll do everything to catch those bastards"

"Ryan, you are on leave. What you can do is come and see Aimee when she is awake and apologize"

Ryan nodded and quietly left the room, leaving the doctor with Horatio and Aimee.

When Calleigh arrived at her apartment she realised how tired she really was. She quickly ate something and went to bed, she wanted to be there when Aimee woke up. When the doctor had checked on Aimee earlier he promised Calleigh her younger sister would be ok again, but she did have to wake up soon.

Horatio sat at Aimee's bed, he was looking at the young woman and he seemed to be thinking about things. He had a sad look on his face, he felt guilty that he couldn't protect Aimee from what had happened to her and that one of his own was partially the cause of what happened.

After a couple of hours of sleep Calleigh felt a lot better. She decided to go to the lab to examine the shell casings and the bullets they found, maybe they would lead to Aimee's kidnappers or the gang they belonged to.

Calleigh also really wanted to find out with the last bit of the note meant. She had no idea what CD LY sis meant. The sis could stand for system, but she wasn't sure. After staring at the picture with the code for a while, she decided to ask someone else, or maybe Aimee herself when she woke up.

As soon as she could Calleigh went to the hospital. Horatio had been with Aimee all this time, something she appreciated very much, but it was time for her to take over for him. After all, Aimee was her sister and she had finished her work. She had found some distinct marks on the bullets matching them to four guns that were used in all three shootings. So if they found the guns they could tie their owners to all shootings and maybe even Aimee's kidnapping.

"Hey" she said to a sleepy Horatio Caine "any news?"

"Hey" he replied while he shook his head "her condition hasn't changed" he added with a sigh.

Horatio got up and offered his chair to the blonde CSI. She looked very tired, even though he knew she actually went home. He had checked with the lab to see when Calleigh arrived. Of course he could never check if she had slept or even rested a little but at least she had been at home for a while.

"Thanks" Calleigh said with a soft voice

"Anytime" Horatio replied, resting his hand on the younger woman's shoulder.

Calleigh, who had sat down, looked up at her supervisor and smiled at him. He was a great boss, he cared deeply about everyone in his team and that was clearly visible. She knew that he would go to great lengths to save her sister, just like she did, although she would go to even greater lengths if she needed to.

When Horatio left the room she turned to her sister. The young woman still looked the same, as if she was sleeping peacefully, but the bruises and bandages made it look less peaceful. A tear ran down Calleigh's cheek as she gently took Aimee's hand in hers.

"I'm so sorry little one, not just for this, but for all the times I let you down. I was so busy with getting away and leading the life I dreamed of that I never thought of you. I knew you were good, I knew you would get out of the mess too, just like I did. I always wanted to take you with me when I went to college, so I could have you around and look out for you."

"Remember all those nights we spend away from home? All those nights I watched you sleep, I watched you until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, because I was afraid someone would hurt you."

Calleigh sighed. Even though the environment they grew up in wasn't very good, they at least had a good bond as sisters.

"I spoke to dad the other day, you know when you were angry with me? I picked him up from the bar, he was drunk because he was upset about seeing you on the news. He was upset I hadn't told him about you coming back home. He knows he failed you little one, he knows and now he turns to the bottle again to drink away all the guilt he feels for making you feel like you did. He has regrets and he wants to see you Aimee"

Calleigh thought Aimee was reacting on what she said, but when she looked again it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

"Daddy changed you know, he is really trying his best. I think you should give him a chance"

Still there was no reaction from Aimee. Calleigh had hoped so much that Aimee would wake up. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she squeezed her sister's hand.

"Open your eyes Aimee" Calleigh pleaded "I don't want to loose you now I just got you back." As Calleigh looked at her sister, she saw how much the younger woman really looked like her. It seemed the only difference was their height, and their age of course.

"I need you little one, please open your eyes" she said again while tugging a strand of hair behind Aimee's ear.

As if Aimee heard what her sister asked her, she started stirring.

Calleigh looked at her sister's face and saw her move. "That's it little one, open your eyes." She quickly dried the tears from her face, she didn't want her younger sister to wake up and see that she had been weak.

"Aimee" Calleigh whispered.

Aimee tried to open her eyes but the light was blinding. She heard her sister talk to her and she wanted to reply but her voice seemed to have gone on vacation. The words she said where barely a whisper.

"Cal"

Calleigh smiled. "That's it Aimee" she said, squeezing her hand.

"Light" Aimee mumbled again.

Calleigh got up and closed the blinds so the room was dark. It was a sunny day outside and she realised that the light would indeed hurt Aimee's eyes. She immediately sat down again and took her sister's hand in hers.

"It's dark now, you can open your eyes"

Aimee's eyes fluttered open. She looked around the room for as far as possible and then turned to see her sister. Aimee had a terrified look in her eyes, she had no idea where she was and was panicking.

"It's ok little one" Calleigh said "I'm here, its ok. You're in the hospital."

"What…" Aimee closed her eyes and sighed.

"You were kidnapped remember? They hurt you bad but we've found you" Calleigh said to calm her sister down.

Aimee smiled for as far as she could. Her body ached all over, but she knew she was safe now.

"Thanks" she mumbled.

"That's my job" Calleigh said "I'm sorry this happened to you"

"It's alright"

"Hey" the older blonde said with a smile "you were right about the caliber"

Aimee smiled "I know"

Calleigh chuckled "Smug"

"I'm good with my ears and eyes. I heard it. I'm not smug"

"Are too"

"Am not"

"Shut up"

"You shut up"

Both women ended up laughing. Aimee didn't laugh for long though, every time she moved it hurt like hell.

"Are you ok Aimee?" Calleigh asked when she saw Aimee's grimace with pain.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just don't make me laugh again" she said with pain in her voice.

Calleigh smiled. "I'm glad you're back"

"Me too sis" Aimee said while putting her hand in Calleigh's.

"One thing"

"What?"

"What does CD LY sis mean?"

Aimee chuckled. "You don't know?" she said while raising her eyebrow at her sister.

"No, I figured out the whole message but not that" Calleigh really had no idea what it meant.

"Where were you in high school and college?"

"What do you mean?"

"CD is you Calleigh Duquesne and LY means well, you know…" Aimee stopped in the middle of her sentence. Calleigh was basically hanging on her lips.

"LY means what?"

"It means love you"

Calleigh smiled and couldn't hold back the tears that welled up in her eyes. It was so sweet of Aimee to leave a message like that in code, it was so Aimee to do that. Calleigh started blushing.

"You are such a dork" she said "using high school code?"

Aimee smiled "I'm not a dork, just don't want the whole police department to know"

"I love you too Aimee, even though you are dorky" Calleigh said with a smile. She hadn't told this to Aimee in ages, and now it was time. "I've always loved you"

Aimee smiled "I know sis"

Calleigh bent over to hug her sister.


	9. I'm going to get you

_**Chapter 9: I'm going to get you**_

It was time for Calleigh to go back to the lab. Aimee had been tested and she was asleep now. Fortunately the young woman didn't suffer any severe brain damage and she would be ok. Calleigh got up and kissed her sister's forehead before leaving. She had left a note for Aimee so she knew where Calleigh was when she woke up.

Calleigh was standing in the Crime Lab's elevator, impatiently waiting until she reached her destination, she let several thought wash over her to kill time. A sudden anger was boiling up in the pitch of her stomach, she was going to get the guys who had done this to her sister. Calleigh unconsciously balled her fists. When the elevator doors opened, Calleigh couldn't believe her eyes. There were several cops trying to hold down two men, who were struggling severely and cursing at the cops in Spanish.

"Callad," she yelled. She hoped the men would actually shut up like she told them to.

The men seemed surprised that Calleigh spoke to them in Spanish and lost their focus, so the cops could get a grip on them.

"Thank you," one of the cops said as he nodded.

Both men were led into separate interrogation rooms. Delko was about to enter one as Calleigh stopped him.

"Eric, are they suspects in the case?" she hoped that by not mentioning Aimee he would forget she was personally involved and let her in on the interrogation.

"Yes, wanna join me?"

Calleigh nodded and brushed past him into the interrogation room

"So," Delko started while he rubbed the suspect's nose into a picture of his gun "you shot at a cop with your own gun"

"That's pretty stupid" Calleigh snorted.

"Hey! I ain't no retard. No soy estúpido!" the man replied.

The interrogation didn't go anywhere; the suspect only gave evasive answers and answered questions with questions. He was working on Calleigh's nerves, she had managed to stay calm but by now her blood was boiling.

Delko showed him a picture of Aimee. By now he realised that Calleigh wasn't supposed to be here at all, she was personally involved. He cursed at himself for forgetting about that, that pretty smile of hers made her get away with anything with him.

"Do you recognize this woman?" Delko asked.

The suspect looked at the picture, touched the outlines of Aimee's face with his finger.

"No," he said with an evil smile.

"Are you sure?" Delko asked again

"Bro, I would remember a fine piece of meat like that! If I had known her, I'd probably already banged her," the suspect added with a smirk.

The suspect's lawyer told Delko to come back with more substantial evidence and gestured his client to leave. Calleigh was beyond pissed by now, that piece of shit had called her sister a piece of meat. Before they got up Calleigh walked towards the table and slammed her hands on it. She moved her face close to the suspect's.

"Ya me te pagará! I'm going to get you," she hissed at him.

The suspect laughed, but this time it was sourly. That was some determined woman, and something in her eyes told him that she would do everything to get him.

His lawyer was in a heated discussion with Delko about Calleigh misbehaving herself. He was threatening with suing her, and the whole Crime Lab.

"Bruja," the suspect whispered as he left the interrogation room.

Calleigh's eyes shot death glares at the man, who was now smiling at her, flashing his golden teeth.

"You were out of line," Delko told Calleigh after the suspect and his lawyer left.

"Sue me," Calleigh said before walking away.

The second she left the interrogation room she regretted her remark to Delko. He was a good guy, he had always been there for her, he didn't deserve that. She decided to find him and apologize.

When she was on her way to find Delko her phone rang.

"Duquesne," she said, wondering who was calling her. She didn't recognize the number.

"Hey sis," she heard Aimee say on the other side of the line.

"Aimee, how are you?" Calleigh was pleasantly surprised by her sister's voice.

"Can you pick me up?"

"What?"

"I'm going to be released later," Aimee informed her sister.

"Already?" Calleigh couldn't believe they would release Aimee that soon.

"Hey if you don't want to pick me up I'll take a cab and stay in a hotel," Aimee said mockingly.

"I'll be there after my shift ok?" Calleigh answered. She was glad Aimee was joking again, that always meant things were going well.

She saw Horatio walking up to her with that look on his face. He probably heard about the scene she made.

"Aimee? I think I will be there in about 20 minutes," she corrected herself. She probably was suspended now. Twice in a week is something even Horatio couldn't ignore. But then again he would have done the same if Aimee was his sister.

"Thank you sis," Aimee said. Calleigh could hear her sister smile into the phone.

"I gotta go now, I will see you soon," Calleigh said as she hung up and faced her boss.

"Can you come to my office Calleigh?" Horatio asked the blonde woman.

"We can do it here," Calleigh said, she just wanted to get this over with and pick up her sister.

Horatio raised his eyebrow, that's all he needed to do for Calleigh to sigh and follow him to his office.

"You were out of line, again," Horatio said calmly.

"I know. I'm sorry. I just heard that guy calling my sister a piece of meat and I couldn't control myself," Calleigh sighed and looked at the floor; she had really messed up this time.

"You should be above that Calleigh; you are one of my best CSI's. I'm putting you on a four day leave, without pay. I've let you get away once, but I can't do that twice."

"Ok."

Horatio looked at his blonde CSI, she looked as if she was about to break down and cry. It was time for her to take a while off; she had been through a lot this past week.

"Go spend some time with Aimee and get some rest," he said with a smile.

Calleigh smiled back, although she didn't succeed in making it look like a genuine smile. She turned around and left the Lab.

"I'm going to get them," she mumbled to herself before getting into her car.


	10. Life as it is

_**Chapter 10: Life as it is**_

Three days had passed and Calleigh felt a lot better already. Having Aimee around sure worked miracles for her, not just for her mood but also for her whole being. It was just like the old days, only now Aimee was capable of having more sophisticated conversations. They spend most the time talking, well Aimee was talking and Calleigh was listening. Aimee had a lot to tell about her life after they had lost contact. Calleigh felt bad for the things Aimee went through, she should have been there to protect her little sister. But fortunately everything worked out for Aimee, she had a degree and a remarkable CV for her age.

Today was Calleigh's last day off and she and Aimee decided to go out for the day. They had been walking around the city for a while and now they were sitting at a terrace enjoying the afternoon sun.

"We should go shopping," Aimee noted. "You could definitely use some advice from the Master."

"What's wrong with the way I look?" Calleigh said as if she was insulted.

"Nothing wrong with your look sis, you just need to update your taste a little," Aimee mocked.

"I think you should take advice from me," Calleigh said as she pointed at herself and Aimee to underline her point.

"If we start wearing the same clothes, everyone will think we are twins," Aimee concluded.

"I don't see the problem," Calleigh answered.

"I do! You are way older," Aimee said mockingly.

Calleigh looked insulted, but it was obvious she wasn't.

"Oh sis, you have never been able to pretend around me, you seriously need to work on that," Aimee laughed.

Calleigh loved the playful banter between them; everything seemed so much lighter and so much more fun. She was really enjoying herself; it had been a long time since she really enjoyed herself.

Aimee loved to see her sister so playful and relaxed. From the moment she arrived in Miami she had noticed her sister was tense and too serious for her own good. She was glad she had enlightened her sister's mood.

Calleigh drank the last bit of her drink and put the glass back on the table, "Ready to shop?"

"Do you really have to ask? I'm a woman!" Aimee answered.

"Jeeze Aimee, how old are you?" Calleigh teased her sister.

"Old enough to know what I'm talking about, and young enough to be able to act like this," was Aimee's answer.

"Smartass," Calleigh snorted.

Later that day they arrived at home. Aimee dropped her bags on the floor and plopped down on the couch with a deep sigh.

"I haven't had this much fun in….well ages," she said contently.

"Me neither," Calleigh said as she put her bags on the floor next to Aimee's. "Coffee?"

Aimee got up and walked up to her sister. "Nope, I am taking you out to dinner, and we are leaving right now."

"Well I guess that's decided then," Calleigh laughed.

Aimee linked her arm with Calleigh's and led her older sister out of the door.

"You are a nutcase, you know that," Calleigh snorted at the gesture.

Calleigh woke up early the next morning. In the past four days she had been able to fully relax and unwind and now she was totally ready to go to work again. Yesterday Aimee had called in, telling Horatio that she wanted to work half shifts again. Of course Horatio didn't agree, he said it was way too early to start working again.

When Calleigh had taken a shower and entered the kitchen, Aimee was already up, making them coffee.

"Top of the morning to you," Calleigh said as she reached for the coffee mugs.

"Good morning to you too sunshine," Aimee snorted. Calleigh was never that happy in the morning, usually that is.

As Aimee poured them both coffee, Calleigh noticed that Aimee was all dressed up for work.

"Don't even think about it," she said while looking at her younger sister with a stern face.

"Just half a shift," Aimee replied, "and there is no arguing about it."

"Do I need to remind you that you were in hospital not too long ago?"

"Do I need to remind you that I had 4 days to rest and had my big sister to take care of me?" Aimee replied.

"Don't you ever listen?" Calleigh sighed. She knew there was no arguing with Aimee. "Ok, if you think you can do it, then go, but promise me you will go home if you feel weak or ill."

"I promise," Aimee said. What Aimee didn't know yet was that Calleigh transferred back to Ballistics.

When they arrived at work they went straight to Horatio's office. Calleigh to say she was back and Aimee to say she was going to work anyway.

Their red headed boss was surprised to see both sisters.

"Hey Horatio," Calleigh said showing him one of her genuine 'Duquesne smiles'.

"Hey Calleigh, you look good," he said with a smile.

"I feel good," Calleigh smiled back before walking off to the break room.

"Hey Aimee, how are you feeling? How nice of you to stop by," Horatio said to Aimee as he motioned her to sit down.

"Sir, I think you and I both know I'm not here to stop by," Aimee said with a sweet smile.

"I'm afraid so, and you really have to stop calling me Sir."

"I'm sorry, Horatio, I just want to work half a shift. I would be bored out of my head at home, the only reason I didn't go crazy the past days was because Calleigh was there with me. I just need to do things," Aimee pleaded.

Before Horatio could reply the young blonde continued.

"I want to catch the guys who did this to me, or at least help to catch them," Aimee continued.

"I understand Aimee, but you were in the hospital not so long ago."

"I know, but I'm ready. I'm a lab tech, I don't even go out in the field and I have no intention to do so anyway. I just want to work."

"Ok, but only half a shift, I don't want to see you here this afternoon," Horatio said with a smile. "Welcome back Aimee," he said as he patted Aimee on the back.

"Thank you," Aimee smiled.

As Aimee walked into the Ballistics Lab she saw her sister working there, she raised her eyebrow and cleared her throat.

"What are you doing here? Don't tell me you are here to keep an eye on me," Aimee teased.

Calleigh smiled and looked up from the microscope. "I'm working here, you give yourself way too much credit," she snorted.

Aimee's eyes seemed to grow a size, "you transferred back?"

"Yes," Calleigh answered simply as she went back to her work on the microscope.

Aimee walked up to her sister and hugged her from behind.

Calleigh turned around and smiled. "Time to work now, colleague."

Aimee smiled and mockingly saluted her sister.

Horatio had followed Aimee to the Ballistics Lab; he wanted to see how she reacted on Calleigh working with her with his own eyes. After seeing the scene, he smiled. The bad guys in Miami were going to have a hard time with a dream team like this chasing them.

"Cal?" Aimee mumbled while she was working.

"Yes?" Calleigh answered absentmindedly.

"Remember you always told me to take life as it is?"

Calleigh looked up at Aimee and saw her sister's serious face. She smiled at the thought that Aimee still remembered almost everything she had told her when she was little.

"Yes, I do."

"I like life as it is, like this I mean," the younger blonde smiled.

"So do I Aimee."


End file.
